The Royal Curse

Twilight Mages, Book 1

By: Eliot Grayson

Narrated by: Kirt Graves

Dawn mage. Twilight mage. Cursed, useless, damaged, dangerous…

His birth magic leaves Prince Nikola with nothing but bad choices: live as another man's possession, subject to his whims and his desires, or remain dependent on a potion that stunts his powers and prevents him from knowing love.

Andreas vows to protect the prince with his life—whether Nikola wants him to or not. After all, the queen pays his soldier's wage. Nikola's nothing but a job to do.

But when they find themselves stranded, with Nikola's potion running out, Andreas has to… improvise. Because what Prince Nikola needs to survive is the opposite of a lowly guard's respectful protection.

It should've been only one night. Just until the potion's refilled. But since Nikola had Andreas's touch, he craves Andreas again and again. He shouldn't. But he—and his magic—can't live without it…

©2023 Eliot Grayson (P)2024 Podium Audio

One Spicy Story

If you're looking for a story that takes spice to a whole new level, look no further. There is plenty of story and plot, and it takes the subject matter seriously, delving into how difficult living with such a condition would truly be, which was unexpected. There is a lot of depth to the characters, brought alive beautifully with Graves' excellent narration. Be ready for the spice! Once it shows up, it stays. There is a bit of a trigger warning for later in the book, but for those who worry, nothing truly bad happens to our beloved Nikola and Andreas, although their journey is far from easy. The story was fantastic, but the epilogue really sealed it. Wonderfully well written, beautifully performed, and well worth a relisten!

Succulent

I came here from another Eliot Grayson series and while Kirt Graves does a wonderful job, his voice is a bit nasally for my liking. That being said, I love being able to piece apart voices without the voices being too, eh, cartoony.

This book is also in 1st person and I specifically went to another book from this author because the last book was in 3rd person and wonderfully vivid and flowery. Fortunately, that is not lost in 1st person! Even with a single POV the whole book!

I was easily sucked into the premise and story. Yes I came for the sexy times, which there are plenty. More sex and emotionally dramatic than plot heavy, but that is what I'm looking for these days! Nico and Andreas (sorry if I misspelled anything. The review section glitches out if I leave and come back) are an adorable couple and I'm kind of living for these insecure bois.

Unputdownable.

This was everything I needed it to be and more. And HOT. Gah, I can’t wait for more of this world! Eliot never fails to make me empathize with her characters and swoon for others, and this was no exception. I was so sad to finish it…

love kirt and Eliot

this is literally my favorite series and kirt always does wonderful things with the written word

Very Spicy, Little Story

Overall it was cute and performed well. But there was very little world building or plot. Really not even sure how the main characters fell in love either… the spice was enjoyable so if that’s all you wanted then this is the right book for you. I think I expected more of a story along with the spice.